Despite remaining in Czechoslovakia, Pivoňka gained the attention of teams from the National Hockey League and was heavily pursued by the Washington Capitals.
[7] His numerous meetings with Button happened in secret due to Czechoslovakia's tendency to reject young players' permission to play in North America.
[6] In his final meeting with Capitals executives, Buttons handed Pivoňka a split-up $5 bill and told him not to talk with anyone claiming to be associated with the club unless they had the other half.
[10][11] On 7 July 1986, Pivoňka and Renata left Prague and secretly met with a contact in rural Italy to cross the border and meet with Washington Capitals executives.
[12] As he would not receive his first paycheque until 15 October 1986, Pivoňka and Renata rented a two-bedroom apartment and bought a car using money from his signing bonuses.
[10] After only adding three goals and four assists to his points total by the end of November, head coach Bryan Murray said Pivoňka was playing "like the rookie I thought he would start out as.
Nicknamed the Easter Epic, it was the longest Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history and required four overtimes to decide the winner.
[2] After he similarly struggled through the first 14 games of the 1988–89 season, Pivoňka was re-assigned to the Capitals American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, in early November.
[23] While playing alongside Bondra and Dmitri Khristich,[24] Pivoňka finished the regular-season with a career-high 70 points and tied Kevin Hatcher for the team lead in assists.
[26] Pivoňka's efforts helped the Capitals qualify for the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs, where they faced the New York Rangers in the first round.
[29] As the trio remained the Capitals top offensive line through November, Pivoňka quickly added three goals and eight assists to his points total.
[41] Under new head coach Jim Schoenfeld, the Capitals finished the 1993–94 season in third place and faced off against the Penguins in the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs.
[53] As the duo continued to garner attention around the league for their play, sportswriter Jim Kelley referred to the pairing as "magic" and compared them to the French Connection.
[57] His slow scoring began to raise concerns with vice president and general manager David Poile, who said: "We're not going anywhere unless Michal Pivonka gets better.
"[58][59] In part due to his struggles, Pivoňka was moved off of a line with Bondra and began playing with Dale Hunter and Kelly Miller in January 1997.
[60] On 13 January 1997, Pivoňka tallied his 400th career NHL assist to help lift the Capitals to a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
[61] In another effort to improve his production, Pivoňka was shifted from centre to a winger position alongside Steve Konowalchuk and Joé Juneau.
[64] As the Capitals struggled to trade Pivoňka due to his expensive contract, they assigned him to the Kansas City Blades of the IHL for the 1999–2000 season.